THE victim of a dog attack said she will no longer walk her puppy in Portsmouth and may move out of the city altogether.

The 32-year-old, who wants to remain anonymous, said walking her nine-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier in the city does not feel safe any more after they were both attacked.

I will not walk my puppy in Portsmouth anymore. It just doesn’t feel safe and that is a big shame.

Victim

The victim, from Southsea, suffered an injury to her arm while her pet had to have emergency surgery.

She said: ‘I will not walk him in Portsmouth any more. It just doesn’t feel safe and that is a big shame.

‘Luckily the attack hasn’t had any lasting effect on my dog and he is still okay around other dogs.

‘But it really affected me. The attack was horrific and I’m even considering moving out of Portsmouth altogether.’

The victim was walking her dog along Southsea Common on July 9 when a Staffordshire bull terrier cross breed, which was not on a lead, approached them. She said she was a little cautious but the owner, who is believed to have had an alcoholic drink in his hand, said the dog was not vicious.

But after her puppy, who was wearing a harness lead, tried to run away, she attempted to pick him up. It was at this point the other dog attacked.

‘It just jumped on him and pulled us both down to the ground,’ she said.

‘I was screaming so loud trying to get attention because the owner wasn’t doing anything.

‘Three women heard me and we were able to get the dog off.

‘It was only then that I realised I was bleeding on the forearm where it had bitten me.

‘We were both bleeding quite a lot and the women helped take us back to my flat.

‘When I went to hospital, the doctors thought my arm was broken because it was so swollen.’

She said she wanted to warn other people about the dog that attacked her.

‘It is hard to tell with cross breeds, but one of the women who helped said it looked like it had some pit bull in it.

‘I just want people to be aware of the dog and its owner so nobody has to go through what I did.’

Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack, which happened between 7pm and 7.30pm.